Hi all. I figured I'd post in here instead of starting a new thread. Thanks in advance for any help with this piece.

I've been eyeing this lamp that's for sale near me. The seller has no information about it and seems to think it is a one off home made piece. Does anyone have any idea who may have made this? And of course I must ask... is this Tiki?

Hi guys, my wife bought these two last week as a combo Father's Day / Birthday gift. The story is that they were purchased originally in a Chicago antique shop in about 2003. The person who sold them at the time said they came from a recently defunct tiki bar in the Chicago area, but didn't know which one. I've been scouring all the pics, but can't find them, so I thought I'd see if anyone has spotted them anywhere.

On 2013-07-07 12:49, bigbrotiki wrote:Not so sure they are vintage, they kinda look Poly-Asian to me - perhaps from the ill-fated new Trader Vic's?

I can tell by the condition of the wood that they're too old to be from the Gold Coast Vic's. Besides, I was there several times. These guys were not there. I don't remember them in the Palmer Vic's either, so I'm pretty much ready to rule out either of those establishments.

Are you sure it's not artificially aged? Those import store suppliers are pretty good at that. I just can't discern any of the mainland style in these, and especially the left one's face with its tiny nose, the lidded eyes and the wobbly lines reminds me of the Bali/Indonesian Tikis that Vic's was importing:

I am just going by my first impression, and that of only one photo, so I might be wrong. But I have heard so many shady claims by sellers of age and origin, I have learned to only trust my own knowledge and eye. The Poly-Asian types have been sold under false pretense before, with vague "from some closed-down restaurant" pedigrees.

As I wrote the above, I wondered "Maybe I can find that thread about Robert from Thatch buying all those fake 'Trader Vic's N.Y. Plaza' Tikis from years ago - and I did. And that was the photo in it:

On 2006-11-06 12:49, Tipsy McStagger wrote:they have been selling these for years here in chicago.....there's a warehouse on the south side selling all but the short guy with the mask....they are all new tikis, not vintage....i reported on this a long time ago i believe...duke carter also knows of this place -i forget the name, but if i think of it i'll post it....they are expensive,,,about $450 for the trader vic salt shaker replicas....

Hmmm... Certainly looks like the guy on the left. Though the one I have is cracked, and the interior wood shows the same age as the exterior. I have a hard time believing they're less than 30-40 years old. I wonder how many years "for years" encompases.

Paid 400 for the pair, with a couple of pricy Munktiki and Tiki Farm mugs thrown in, so I'm happy either way. Interesting.

On 2013-07-08 16:48, Boscorooty wrote:Hmmm... Certainly looks like the guy on the left. Though the one I have is cracked, and the interior wood shows the same age as the exterior. I have a hard time believing they're less than 30-40 years old. I wonder how many years "for years" encompases.

Paid 400 for the pair, with a couple of pricy Munktiki and Tiki Farm mugs thrown in, so I'm happy either way. Interesting.